Conventionally, a lithography process using a resist composition has been carried out in production of a semiconductor device. Due to miniaturization of a resist pattern to be formed by the lithography process, the resist pattern is likely to be collapsed. In particular, after an exposed resist film is developed, a problem frequently arises in which the resist pattern is collapsed due to flow of a rinsing liquid at a rinsing step or during drying of the rinsing liquid. Conventionally, water containing an additive such as a surfactant and an organic acid or pure water has been used as the rinsing liquid.
As a method for forming a pattern that suppresses the occurrence of a failure caused by resist pattern collapse, Patent Document 1 describes a method for forming a pattern that includes steps of forming a resist film on a substrate, selectively irradiating the resist film with an energy beam to form a latent image in the resist film, supplying a developer (alkaline developer) onto the resist film to form a resist pattern from the resist film having the latent image, supplying a rinsing liquid onto the substrate to replace the developer on the substrate with the rinsing liquid, supplying a coating film material onto the substrate to replace at least a part of the rinsing liquid on the substrate with the coating film material that contains a solvent and a solute different from the resist film, volatilizing the solvent in the coating film material to form a coating film covering the resist film on the substrate, removing at least a part of a surface of the coating film to expose at least a part of an upper surface of the resist pattern and form a mask pattern formed of the coating film, and processing the substrate using the mask pattern.
As a developer that does not cause pattern collapse during formation of a finer pattern, Patent Document 2 describes a developer containing a curable resin different from a curable resin forming a resist film and an organic solvent. Examples of the curable resin contained in the developer include a novolac resin and a polysiloxane resin.
Patent Document 3 describes a method for producing a water-soluble silicon compound having high stability by bringing a silicon compound or a condensate thereof into contact with a water-soluble compound having one or more hydroxyl groups or amino groups in one molecule, followed by bringing a silicon compound or a condensate thereof into contact with an acidic substance. Examples of the water-soluble compound include glycols.